Drakengard: Descent to Madness
by Uracle
Summary: A tale of seals and swords set in the dark world of Drakengard. In a time before Caim and Nowe, a man named Zai sought the seals in the hopes of reuniting with his love. A tragic love story that will bring the world to the brink of chaos.A new verse added
1. CHAPTER 1: PURPOSE

**CHAPTER 1: PURPOSE**


	2. Verse I: Army within One

_This would be a second fanfic on a game that I made. My first one was for Devil May Cry which I made out of boredom. I decided to write this one on Drakengard because the series does have a great story, with its twisted characters and the like and my plans with the story in the future (Bet you can guess what after that sentence). You should know that this fan fiction does not involve any of the characters from the game but is about my own created characters in the world of Drakengard. Anyway, the timeline in this story is the past, way before the events of the original Drakengard. I hope you enjoy it._

_Please note that I do not own the Drakengard universe. That belongs to the good old people down at Cavia studios, I guess. All original characters that you haven't even heard of however do belong to me. Please do not mind any spelling and grammar errors and be sure to review this story. Thank you._

**Chapter 1: Purpose**

**Verse 1: Army within One**

A man stood before his army of over three hundred men; three hundred eager men who were ready to die for their General, Damon. He was a tall man with short blond hair which he didn't care to groom. He wore specialized armour that fitted his liking and bore a special emblem of the Kingdom he ruled. He looked upon his men without a hint of pride, or satisfaction on his face. It was only stern and filled with anger. Anger for reasons unknown to his men but it was not their business to know. They live to follow his commands blindly without second thought.

"My brothers…," Damon said loudly. His voice was so strong, even the soldiers in the very back could hear him clearly. "Today will be the day. The day we put an end to this war and bring peace, freedom, stability and justice in this world forever more."

The soldiers grunted cheers of determination and agreement in unison. Damon continued to speak after they had finished. "We have faced this foe for long enough. It ends today. The enemy seeks to destroy us all. The enemy does not seek money or conquest of my-our country but conquest of the world for the enemy seeks the very thing that keeps chaos itself at bay! This will not stand!"

The soldiers grunted again, louder this time around.

"We will fight! We will win! Justice will prevail!" Damon screamed in extreme anger. "For our country, for our honour, for the Goddess Lilian!"

The soldiers cheered at this motivation speech. Their cheers so loud that filled the large empty plain fields seemed to irritate Damon even more. Men should not be that enthusiastic to die. He looked on ahead of the field, watching and waiting, remaining very still, as if his whole body had turned to stone. His hearing heighten, his vision more precise. He could see what was coming, what was heading their way. The enemy was close. Without turning his head he raised his arm signalling his men to stand in position and be ready for battle. The soldiers obeyed like well trained dogs carrying out their trainer's orders. Damon drew his sword. The enemy was now in view. Even the General's men could see it clearly. Behind the visors of their helmets were the eyes of terrified men at the very sight of it, so paralyzed with fear that they could not tremble. All their confidence had vanished as if swept away by a heavy tide.

"Attack!" Damon roared and without hesitation, despite their fear the soldiers rushed past their General towards their charging opponent. This opponent that brought fear and terror to over three hundred men was a lone man by the name of Zai who wielded a long sword in his left hand and a dagger in his right. His hair flowed behind him which he kept in a long pony tail. His armour, custom made to resemble his clothing and allow more agile movement. His smile, toothy and white as he looked upon his hundreds of upcoming victims and his eyes, bright and yellow with a golden tone that was filled with bloodlust and the joy. His eyes, those same eyes that brought fear to the hearts of men that stood against him. No one knew if there was any madness behind those eyes. There were only the eyes of a cold blooded killer, a demon.

With a blood thirsty roar that seemed to shake the earth itself, Zai thrust his sword forward towards Damon's army. A sharp, powerful force seemed to appear from its tip that was so strong it knocked the entire frontline backwards into the air. This left a large line of space that Zai filled as he prepared himself for a great deal of pleasure. He waited in his dual blade stance as the soldiers hesitated in their attack. They seemed to stagger around him as if deciding on which plan of action would be the most effective however it was futile against an enemy such as he. Finally, one by one, they came at him with their swords raised high and their intent to kill but compared to Zai's intent it was a nothing but a small flame standing against a tidal wave. His movements swift and in a way graceful he slew his on coming men. One by one he pierced through their armour and drained the very life out of them in an instant. He was quick and precise, killing one man quickly then moving on to the other that came from a different direction. Blood sprayed on him multiple times.

The blood seemed to call to him, telling him to kill more and more. More bloodshed, more and more. His very soul cried for it. He more he killed, the more blood that spilled, the more blood that would spill the more he craved more killing. He slashed and chopped and slammed until he was drenched in blood from head to toe. It was exhilarating. The very sight of the carnage he had created the bloody masses that lay before him. His eyes grew wider and his smile brightened. The soldiers stumbled backwards in fear. They were completely entranced by fear. Zai turned his head to Damon's direction. The General could see him in plain sight, past all the soldiers, his blood drenched body and his sinister smile. He mouthed to words to Damon that drove him off the wall with anger: "To easy."

"Arm the catapult! Fire as soon as possible!" Damon roared at the soldier in charge of the catapult who was hesitant to his command.

"But sir, our men are still in the area. We can't-" his words were cut short as Damon, with no patience for his objection, slashed him through the throat. At the sight at this the catapult labourers did as their General had commanded.

Zai had stopped his killing, his targets still frozen with fear. Surprisingly, his bloodlust had been slated earlier then expected. His maddened, toothy grin disappeared and was replaced with a stern frown. His eyes still possessed a hint of madness and lust for carnage and destruction. He had to end this quickly. There was no time to lose. He heard a faint sound from the distance. He knew that sound. It was the sound of a catapult being deployed. A giant boulder came plummeting from above towards him, ready to crush those in its area. Zai's toothy smile returned. Perhaps he does have sometime left to play around.

Before the boulder hit the ground it exploded as a giant ball of fire collided with it in mid air from above. Damon lost his patience and stabbed his sword at a nearby subordinate. The General's forces did not know where the fireball came from but their question would soon be answered. A winged demon appeared speeding down from above and slammed the earth with its mighty feet crushing those below it. It gave a mighty roar has it spread its mighty white and light blue wings even wider. A dragon had appeared on the battlefield. It lowered its head towards Zai who quickly made his way of its neck on its back.

"Let's go, Lived." He said and the dragon took flight into the sky, flapping its powerful wings. It was time for them to take their leave right after they took care of the rest of army.

_Well, that's the end of the first verse. I know it's not very interesting but please bear with me on it. I'll update as soon as possible and please comment._


	3. Verse II: Crimson Skies

_Here is the second verse of chapter one. I plan to make the story long if people are interested enough to read that far. I must apologize for the first verse's crappiness. I always tend to open my stories with a pointless battle. Please enjoy verse 2, leave comments and please note that I do not own Drakengard and the twisted concepts however all characters are my original creations._

**Verse 2: Crimson Skies**

Zai grasped Lived scaly neck tightly as the majestic dragon soared through the sky, over Damon panic stricken forces as balls of fire rained down on them. Screams of agony and pain could be heard from below. The very sounds delighted Zai and Lived was enjoying himself as well. Damon's forces responded with giant balls of fire of their own as they launched them from their massive catapults. The dragon smirked at himself at this pitiful attempt to bring him down. These balls of fire lacked any control as is anything human made. All attacks on the dragon was futile as he either over powered it with his own dragon fire, was too fast for it to even touch him or, if he felt the need and/or to Zai's request , he would completely shatter it with its own tail.

"Lived, this is really starting to get boring. Any chance you can eradicate them all in one blow?" Zai asked.

"I am not that powerful of a dragon, Zai," Lived hissed. "Our pact may slowly increase my power but never to that extent."

"But it is possible, right?"

"…Yes." Lived responded slowly. Zai smiled at the thought of it. Thousands of his enemies killed in one great blow. He would be invincible. That would truly be fantastic. He looked down at his arm and saw a deep wound that was bleeding rapidly. He hadn't even notice that he had been touched at all by those fools but it wasn't a big surprise to him. It's bound to happen to anyone who could not feel. That was the price of Zai paid in his pact with Lived; his sense of touch. No longer could he feel the warm comfortable sands of the beach or the cool breeze of the wind, or the comforting hand of a woman. His pact markings spread almost over his whole body, markings that looked similar to veins. This pact was necessary for him to acquire the power he needed to complete his mission; so that they can be together again.

Lost in his thoughts, Zai barely noticed the many steel chains shots into the air from below. The soldiers were now using a different method of bringing them down. Hunched back ogres with spiked spines that would shoot long pointed chains from the back of their skin. There were only ten of these creatures but each one shot what seemed to be twenty at a time. Lived did his best to dodge the onslaught, nearly escaping death multiple times. If that wasn't enough of a problem there were new rivals in the sky as well. Griffins that released fire and lightning from their very beaks came to confront.

"Things look grim this time around…" Lived snarled.

"We've been through worse…Ram that one," Zai pointed to the Griffin closets to them. Its wings were broad and strong and its cry the loudest. "I want to play around for a bit…"

"Your recklessness knows no bounds…" Lived scoffed.

With a mighty of its head the dragon bashed the Griffin across the head leaving it stunned in mid-air. Without hesitation Zai leapt from Lived's back and onto that of the Griffins. He struggled to hand on as the winged creature resisted until the man made his way to his head and stabbed it. Zai's knowledge of Griffins told him the ability to temporally control a Griffin before it dies and that is to stab the center of the back skull. Now that the beast was in his control he now had twice the fire power.

"Lived! Attack the ground forces! Get rid of those ogres!" Zai ordered. "I'll back you up."

Lived nodded slightly as he dove into the crowd of soldiers and ogres, carrying them away with his talons and ripping the apart with his jaws. Zai's Griffin must have been the leader of the pack because as soon as the other Griffins witnessed their attack they followed along. Zai laughed wickedly at the very sight. His voice filled with so much joy.

"Haha! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die!" he laughed. His voice changed from that of a man to that of a woman's but only for a slight second.

Damon became infuriated by the sight of the carnage.

"Take those Griffins down! Get rid of the big one and get rid of that damn dragon, you fools!" he screamed.

Despite Damon's attempt to rally his men back to shape Zai's forces were too much for them. Keeping his cool, at last, Damon made his way to one ogre and directed its back. He slapped it, releasing the many pointed chains under its skin. They all hit the many Griffins in the air; dropping like flies until only the head Griffin and Lived remained.

"That's how it's done, incompetent fools!" Damon screamed at his men. "Now concentrate all the ogres on the Griffin!"

Zai looked below to the group of ogres forming a very large circle around him. This wasn't good for him. Although this creature was fast it wasn't as fast as Lived. It couldn't possibly dodge all of them. Before he could react the ogres fired and were about to hit their mark. He braced for impact but then the chains suddenly changed direction and made a sharp turn to the left towards Lived. This change of direction came unexpected to the dragon and didn't respond fast enough. The chains pierced the mighty creature's wings and legs then sharply dragged it down towards the ground.

"LIVED!" Zai screamed in desperation. He couldn't live without him. He was bound to him while the pact remained. Their fate were tied, the dragon's fate was his own.

Abandoning the Griffin, he dove towards his falling friend. He landed on its back as it slammed to the ground. He stood close to his fallen friend, tied to the ground as the soldiers advanced on them.

"Kill the man! His dragon's weak!" jeered the soldiers.

"Come on and try it!" Zai screamed.

The earth below them rumbled ferociously. The soldiers scrambled in a panic as a giant stone tombstone rose from the earth. There was a womanly figure chained to it, her eyes glowed an emerald green.

"What the hell is that?" Damon gawked at it.

The tombstone hummed as the woman dropped her head down at Zai, the fallen dragons and the soldiers, unknown of what was to be expected next or what threat this tombstone may bring.


	4. Verse III: Furious Earth

_You know the drill; I do not own Drakengard or the Drakengard universe, only the characters in this fanfic. Don't forget to comment and review and please excuse all grammar and spelling mistakes._

**Verse III: Furious Earth**

The soldiers stood baffled and confused in front of the giant woman made of earth chained to the large tombstone. Her eyes glowed hauntingly at them. Damon was silent with surprise at first but as usual this turned into anger.

"Why do you do nothing? Destroy them!" he yelled to his men who did not respond right away. It was if they were hypnotised by this earthly being. They did not know that their legs were cemented into the earth by a strange force. It was only when the force began to take shape in a ghostly figure made of earth did the soldier notice. The phantoms engulfed themselves on them, swallowing them whole and sank back into the earth. They were devoured, left and right, screams that haunted the General's very soul. The only people not taken were Zai and his injured dragon, Lived. The lone warrior watched with satisfaction at the sight of his enemies falling to the hand of this tomb made of stone.

"He never ceases to amaze me" he smiled and broke the chains that bound his friend to the earth. Lived roared in relief at the feel of his freedom. His wings will heal soon enough and he can still fly despite the pain.

Zai spotted an armoured cloaked figure approach him wielding a mighty staff, most likely for whacking people. He wore a plain white mask that seemed to have markings that were vaguely visible.

"Zai…" he said flatly, in a somewhat robotic voice. "We must leave at once. We've wasted a vast amount of time here."

"No, Harret," Zai said coldly with a hint of frustration. "I'm will not leave until every single last one of them is destroyed!"

"We do not have time for this right now, Zai! Gaia!" Harret turned to the large tombstone of earth. The green woman of stone chained to it groaned lightly as it moved closer to the two and erected a mighty barrier from the earth that surrounded them. Just as the barrier was raised did a barrage of flaming debris crashed into it. Inside the barrier Harret remained cool and collect as he always did.

"Zai. State your purpose." he said. Zai loosen his muscles.

"My purpose…is to destroy the seals…," he answered. "I want to destroy all the seals!"

"Why…?"

"For her…I'll destroy them all for her and only for her," Zai said instantly. His voice was not cold with anger and did not crave bloodlust. It was as it was supposed to be; the voice of a passionate and loving man. "I'll destroy all the seals for Lillian. I will not rest until she is free."

"Good. It seems that you have not forgotten your purpose and that is why it is best to leave this battlefield while you and Lived still have your life. We must head for the first seal." Harret said.

"Yes, let's go." Zai said. Lived grunted, jealous of the fact that Harret was one of the few people that could tame this beast.

Harret snapped his fingers and a small appeared within the barrier leading to the outside. He stepped towards it but was stopped by Zai serious question.

"Harret…You've never told why you're helping me or why you want to destroy the seals as well."

Harret turned to Zai, the face behind the mask shrouded more in mystery. "That is none of your concern…for now." he walked out the barrier as Zai climbed onto Lived back. He knew that he would not need a ride for Harret always seems to come up with different inventive ways to fly by manipulating magic.

Outside, all was quiet. Damon had grown tired of trying to bust the barrier open. He had decided to wait for them to come out. He knew that they couldn't stay there forever. Suddenly, in a burst of exploding rock Lived soared towards the skies with its majestic wings. He could only watch as his enemy made their escaped. He knew that they would meet again. This was far from over and the both of them knew it.

Through the clouds, Zai watched for Harret, curious of what new way will he use to fly. He saw Harret engulfed in green light heading towards him. He landed softly on Lived as the light faded and disappeared inside in a stone necklace around Harret's neck.

Zai looked over at his friend in disappointment. He already saw this method before which was very limited.

"You didn't use your magic to fly in an outrages way…" he said in disappointment.

"There is no time for fun and games. I don't want to waste my energy and Gaia's. From now on, I'm flying on your dragon," Harret said flatly, grasping his necklace. "As you know, Gaia can only live within earthly substances. Anywhere else and she will die. She can only stand without it for a few minutes and I'm not going to risk anything. Do you understand?"

"The boy understands," Lived answered. "We won't take off without you next time."

"Very considerate, for a dragon," Harret said without any emotion. "You must bring your kind to shame for co-operating with humans."

"Your gain is my gain. I may be younger then the others but I am still wise enough to do what will benefit us…"

Zai did not know what this meant and he didn't care. He was focused on the seal and the dangers that would likely follow.


	5. Verse IV: Solitude of the Heart

_You know the drill; I do not own Drakengard or the Drakengard universe, only the characters in this fanfic. And don't forget to comment and review._

**Verse IV: Solitude of the Heart**

A distant land with a large castle the shape of a tower erected into the sky, known to be the most sacred land of all. At the very top was one room which was resident to one person, guarded by others. Forced never to leave and only provide prayers to the world surrounding her. Lillian, the goddess of the seals, remained without company that she knew. She would look out into the sky, watching the birds fly by the beautiful blue sky, so graceful, so free. She longed for the life she used to have and to see the familiar faces she loved so much but she knew that it would never happen.However, the fact that she is the reason that those birds could keep flying through that sky gives her strength to continue to live in painful solitude.

She sighed in sorrow at the beautiful image of her in a beautiful white gown that she had to quickly eliminate from her mind. Instead of reading the books that would be delivered to her, she brushed, braided and unbraided her hair long beautiful hair. She tried to keep herself neat and beautiful as much as possible, expecting someone to visit her but she would only be disappointed when the only person that entered her room was her guard that wielded a mighty sword. This sword had a single closed monstrous eye that would open and its red eyes would shift rapidly, examining the room. The man holding the sword was named Tai. He was once a handsome man and a gift to woman, so filled with life, a respected man but now he stands pale and weak, his dark hair messy and unkept. He would stand by the door, staring into space. He frighten the goddess greatly, his sword with the darting red eyes. Sometimes it would stare right at her for long hours of time and Tai would have a light smile on his face. It was impossible to know what was on this man's mind.

Lillian was doing her habit of over grooming herself and sitting in her chair, looking towards the door. Perhaps today would be the day. There was a faint knock at the door, which made the goddess beam. Tai's sword opened its eyes and shifted towards the direction of the door.

"Enter…" Tai groaned loudly. A soldier poked his head into the room and stared looked over at Tai.

"Master Tai, I must inform you of something from King Damon. It's urgent." the soldier said.

Tai dragged himself out of the room and into the hall, leaving Lillian sadden once more that her visitor didn't arrive yet. After a few minutes the soldier that arrived earlier entered the room and assumed the role as guard.

"Excuse me…," Lillian said to the soldier. "Where is Tai?" She didn't really care that he was gone. In fact, she couldn't be more relieved that he was gone along with his terrifying sword.

"You must excuse Tai, Goddess Lillian, but he had an important matter he had to take care of. I will act as your guardian in his absence."

"Okay…" Lillian turned her seat back to the front of her disk and opened her book. A tear dropped onto the page, blotting the ink on the page. She didn't know how long she could keep up this act of a strong, carefree goddess any longer. Each day she could feel her happiness and her very soul fade. She did not know if it was the burden of the seal that was doing this to her or the sharp, stabbing remains of her broken heart.

"Zai…Oh Zai…Where are you…?" she said silently, quivering. "I…I can't…Please…come back to me…"

_Sorry for not updating for a while now. I've been busy lately. Anyway I feel proud of where this fic is heading and I will not stop until the whole story is finished. I was really hoping that more people would read and review this. So, I don't usually ask this, but try to spread the word of this fanfic. Drakengard should really be more popular. I'm also, possibly contemplating on making another story based on the world of Drakengard. I know this one isn't that interesting to some but that's why I want more people to comment on it. So I can hear suggestions from readers from readers like you. Anyway, that's my desperate, sad message. I hope that you've enjoyed reading this verse as I have writing it. I seriously couldn't stop typing. I just kept on typing and typing and adding more into the verse. Okay, now I'm done with this comment. Done. DONE!!! Next verse will be up soon. Oh yeah and don't forget to excuse all spelling and grammar mistakes. _


	6. Verse V: Escapade

_Well, I'm back for the some who actually care and I'm ready to actively finish this story, so you know the drill. I don't own Drakengard or the universe, just my own original characters. Don't forget to comment and review._

**Verse V: Escapade**

As the search for the seal continued Zai began to lose his patience. The longer they spent searching the longer it would take for him to complete his mission. How long had it had been since he had last seen the goddess? Since he has last seen her smiling face? He missed her so much that it was sometimes too much to bear. Now things were different. Now things were complicated. He had to free her so that they could be together with no constraints.

He looked down to the world below. They were flying overhead multiple towns and villages, all of which have been the same in sight quality until they came across one that was set ablaze. He could see the smoke from the burning fire rise towards him. He turned to Harret. He couldn't tell what he was thinking or tell what his expression was. He always wore that odd mask, from the day they first met and up till now.

"There seems to be a raid going on at that village," Lived hissed. "I can hear the cries of the humans. Many cries…"

"Do you know who is responsible?" Harret said flatly.

"Trigeral…," Lived said, sensing Zai's vengeful rage boiling deep within him. "You wish to kill them, do you?"

"Yes…" Zai answered. He wanted them all dead. His lust for battle was not yet quenched for the day.

"We do not have time for this, Zai…," Harret said to him. "We need to get to the seal or have to forgotten your mission..?"

"I have not forgotten my mission nor will I ever!" Zai shot at him. "But let me ask you this, Harret. Do you know where the seal is?"

Harret showed no reaction to Zai's out roar. He simply responded. "No, I do not know of its location but what we do know is which seal we seek; The Seal of the Sun. If we can only obtain any sort of clues then maybe…"

"Survivors…"Gaia whispered as she illuminated from Harret's necklace in a faint green light.

"Hm. Perhaps attacking Trigeral here may benefit us after all," Harret said flatly. "If we can find some survivors that can provide us with information-"

"Let's go, Lived. Kill them all! Burn them all to hell!" Zai screeched with pleasure. "DIE! DIE! DIE! I want them all to die!"

Lived swooped down from above and down to Earth. With a mighty roar Lived crashed into the Earth close to the burning village. Zai, outraged still, attempted to shake Lived's head.

"What are you doing!? Why aren't we burning them to hell? Rain fire on them! Now!" Zai screamed desperately.

"Zai, calm down and try to think clearly. We want to save as many people as possible! We can't risk Lived killing innocent victims or adding to the casualties because of your uncontrollable rage." Harret explained.

Zai growled as he made his way off Lived's back and to the ground. He drew his sword and stabbed it into the Earth several times. Once again he was conflicted between revenge and his mission. However, he quickly realized that he could simply do both.

"I shall wait here…" Lived groaned.

"All right. I'll do this up close and person!" Zai smirked as he dashed into the burning town. The screams of the villagers continued to fill the air.

As he approached it he can see that his dream had been true. It was indeed Trigeral attacking these villagers. He watched as they executed the men before their wives and children, capturing the women and killing them in cold blood after they had their cruel way with them. They tied the children down and set them ablaze. These weren't noble knights of the kingdom. No, these were cold blooded murderers. Monsters. They had to be stopped indeed. And they deserved to die before a demon that would make them suffer.

He witnessed a soldier taking a pregnant young woman by the hair and dragging her out in the open. This woman reminded a little of Lillian, which made his mind stray back to her. He imagined her being captured by the soldier, to be mistreated and abused. This fed his rage, his anger, his bloodlust. With a mighty he charged at the soldier, sword raised high in the air. The soldier saw him coming and was stricken with fear. Zai plunged his blade through his chest, removed it then stabbed him again and again, each time with more ferocity until he had enough and let the corpse fall.

He looked down at the frightened young woman. All he could see was Lillian before his eyes. He spoke softly to her, "You're safe. Don't worry." Then he went off to claim more lives of soldiers, leaving the woman to crawl away to safety.

Harret strolled through the burning village in a carefree fashion. Using his staff he uses his magic to slay his enemies as they run towards him with ease while Gaia provided him with protection of the Earth. He watched as the body count grew and ponder on what the Trigerals had become. He remembered them long ago as mighty defenders of the land, respected by all and he was proud to watch them rally by. They were loved and respected by all but that was during the time of Damon's father. Now that Damon had taken over they have changed. The whole kingdom has changed. Now the Trigerals exploit there powers to the extent and use brutal force to grippen their reign over their people. It was a sad sight and Harret was greatly disappointed. Once they had freed the goddess from the burden of the seal perhaps they can free the people of the torment of the Trigeral.

Their liberation continued and the bodies of soldiers began to pile as the remaining villagers gathered and watched from the distance, amazed and relieved and thanked the gods for this miracle.

_Sure feels good to be writing this again. I'm sorry if this verse wasn't all that interesting but please bear with me. I'll be updating often now so please read, enjoy and review. Please excuse all grammar, typos and spelling errors._


	7. Verse VI: For the Weak

_You know the drill; I don't own Drakengard, just these original characters. Enjoy, read, and review._

**Verse VI: For the weak**

The villagers stared at the remains of their village. Everything had been burned to the ground. There was nothing left. Only rubble, and the blood red Earth below them. The bodies of their friends, family and their murderers were spread before them with a lone swordsman in the middle of them all. He would laugh and laugh and laugh at the sight of the bloodshed he wrought.

Zai decapitated and mangled every single soldier in sight, attempting to satisfy his bloodlust. Harret urged the young ones not to watch, even though they had already been through things so much worse.

Night had finally begun to fall but the nightmare wasn't truly over. Harret gathered the remaining survivors together. Even in the dark he could see their tired and dirty faces.

"People, please be calm. You are safe now. Now we need some information from you." Harret yelled calmly.

"Are you going to kill us?" the woman said amongst the men.

"That depends…"Zai said coldly. "Do you have the information we need? Because if you don't it would have been better if we left you all to rot."

"Ignore him…" Harret said flatly as the villagers cringed at his words. "But we do want to ask you something important."

"Do you know the location of The Seal of the Sun?" Zai growled, with his bloody sword raised towards them.

"The Seal? What do you want with The Seal of the Sun?" and old man, most likely the elder of the village stepped forward. "Are you apart of the rebellion?"

"The rebellion? What do you mean a rebellion?" Harret asked. He was intrigued but his voice didn't show it.

"What does it matter?" Zai growled. "I want to know where the seal is!"

"The rebellion is led by a young woman wearing an eagle's mask. She fights with her small band of forces against the Trigeral and protects the land from their brutal attacks." the elder answered.

"Oh really?" Zai smirked. "Then where was she now when you needed her the most? Off getting killed most likely."

"Zai, don't create any hostilities." Harret responded.

"We do not know where she is now but I know she was doing something just-" the old man replied. "None the less, you saved all of our lives and we can't thank you enough. We will tell you everything you know."

"Start with the Seal before-" Zai started but Harret raised his hand to silence him.

"The Seal of Sun is to the North from here. It is best that you be more careful from here on out and don't draw attention to yourself…"

"Thank you all and good luck." Harret said and climbed onto Lived's back. "Let's go, Zai."

Zai stomped past the villagers and returned onto his dragon. As it spread its mighty wings it let out a might roar and took flight, disappearing into the night. The villagers saw them off with hope glowing in their hearts.

_I'm sorry this chapter wasn't interesting either but this is more of a transition verse. Sorry if it was too short as well. But I can promise you the next chapter will have a little more going on…_


	8. Verse VII: Circumstance of Reunion

_You know the drill. I don't own Drakengard, only my own original characters. Blah, blah, blah, blah. Read. Review. Enjoy. And please excuse all grammar and spelling errors._

**Verse VII: Circumstance of Reunion**

The two could see the large structure in the distance. It looked like a regular old cathedral but was worn down and old. It looked like it could fall apart at any second. It was surprising that such an old place could house one of the seals.

"We are close…Soon we will be one step closer to our goal…" Zai smirked.

"You must remain on guard, Zai," Lived hissed in a deep tone. "You must not cloud your mind with thoughts of bloodshed. You must remained focus."

"Unfortunately, I believe that is impossible for Zai." Harret replied in his monotone voice.

"We are close enough!" Zai yelled as he saw the cathedral below and plunged himself side ways from Lived back.

"You fool!" Harret yelled flatly as he extended his arm to grab him but was too late. Zai was already on his way to the ground.

"Foolish human! He will be the death of me." Lived said with a bit of panic in his voice.

He knew it was important to keep Zai alive no matter the cost or it would be the end of their pact and both of their lives. Lived dove towards him, attempting to catch him on his back but he was already close to hitting the ground. If he didn't reach him Zai would most likely die.

Harret grabbed his pendant and called forth his pact partner, Gaia. A jet of green light

shot through his stone and towards the Earth below, passing Zai's descending body. The Earth illuminated in a green light where Gaia had entered then a large stone pillars ascended from the lights and continued towards Zai. As they approached him their form slanted and became steep hill slopes. His back landed softly on them and he let his body slide down harmlessly to the ground. He did not stop to rest when his feet planted to the ground. He could not wait. He ran into the old building which housed the seal without hesitation.

Harret and Lived landed softly on the Earth. Harret watched as Zai entered head on into the building, annoyed.

"The fool nearly got you both killed!" Harret shouted as Gaia re-entered its home in Harret's stone pendant. "What is he thinking? Does he wish to die?"

"His mind is clouded with anger, fear, and sadness" Lived answered. "He thinks about nothing except vengeance and love for Lillian. However, there is something else…His thoughts are more clouded in a much darker fog then I had expected.

"Perhaps all of this is sending him over the edge…towards madness."

"Perhaps…That is why we must end this sooner. So he may find peace of mind before he destroys himself and others around him."

"Then let's go. We don't have much time. Come on, Lived. Zai's gonna need our help."

They both entered the cathedral cautiously but also making haste in order to catch up with Zai. It didn't take long to find him. He stood motionless at the center of the building. They could him seething, anger bowling within him ready to burst.

"Where is it…?" he whispered. "Where?…Where?…Where?"

"What's wrong, Zai? What's going on…?" Harret said before examined his surroundings. The room was empty and completely barren. This wasn't right. He sensed so force in the area neither. Nothing. This led him to the conclusion.

"There is no seal here." He said.

"What!? What do you mean?" Zai screamed at his comrade. "We came all this way for nothing? Is that it!?"

"I don't understand. How could I have not sensed that the seal was not here? Something's not right."

"They lied to us. Those villagers lied to us! I'm going to kill them!" Zai screamed, swinging his sword wildly in the air. "I'm gonna rip every single one of them to shreds. I'm going to make them wish that they were abused and murdered. RAWR!!!!!"

"No, Zai" Harret answered. "That's unlikely. They had no reason to lie to us. There's something more to this."

"A trap…" Lived growled.

"What did you say?" Harret said. "A trap?"

"What!? How!?" Zai exclaimed.

"We are surrounded by many monsters. There are orcs, ogres, and, goblins and trolls. They have us completely surrounded."

"But where!? Where are they?" Zai screamed.

As if on cue the sides of the walls swung trap doors open revealing many forces of monsters. The goblins squealed as they brandished their butcher knives. The ogres growled as they approached. The orcs pounded the mallets into their fists in anticipation. Lived was right. They were surrounded. In about a second the room had gone from empty to nearly full.

Someone riding on what looked like a two headed horse with the tail of a rattle snake trotted towards the center, ready to confront Zai, Harret and Lived. The man on the "horse" was very pale and wore elegant dark armor. He wielded a sword that seemed to be pulsing. There was a living eye near the center of the blade. Harret instantly recognized this man. He was one of Domon's generals.

"Tai. I should have known you were responsible for this…" Harret said.

"Hello there, Harret. Long time no see," Tai said flatly. "You've certainly changed, haven't you?"

"Yes, but apparently you have too but not for the best. You don't look very good." Harret said.

"Do you know this fool?" Zai glared at Tai's pale face then at his sword whose eyes were staring right at him.

"This is Tai, one of Domon's generals." Harret answered.

"The man has made a pack with that demon sword…" Lived said. "A sword that can manipulate the souls of monsters."

"I don't care who he is as long as he tells me where he's hiding the seal." Zai said as he raised his sword to him. "Maybe I'll just chop off his limps and let him live."

"Ah, yes. The seal. Well as you have already noticed the seal is not here. We just gave the people in the area the wrong information ensuring that you would come here." Tai's pale face smirked. It was disgusting watching him. It was as if the life was being sucked right out of him by the second.

"So it was a trap. Well, then. What do I have to do to make you talk? Maybe I might smash that sword in half. It might just do you a favor." Zai smirked.

"You are in no position to be making treats with me, Zai. It won't be long until you're dead. My servants will enjoy eating your flesh." Tai said.

"He's right, Zai. We're completely outnumbered and outmatched. Even with Lived help I don't think we can kill them all. He's got us right where he wants us." Harret said.

"No! I know we can defeat them. If I, you, your magic, Gaia and Lived worked together we can destroy them. We can find the seal without their help!" Zai exclaimed.

"You are persistent but you are also a fool. I don't see what Lilian sees in someone like you. The goddess's love is wasted on the monster like you." Tai smirked.

This hit Zai's core and triggered a large amount of rage bottled up inside of him. Without thinking he charged ahead towards Tai. Roaring and swinging past the monsters in his way.

"Zai, stop! You're going to get yourself killed!" Harret yelled.

"Foolish mortal. Burn in hell." Tai raised his demon sword, ready to strike his opponent with one mighty blow when the earth below them crumbled open.

"Lived, get out of here! Now!" Zai screamed as he fell into the dark abyss the Earth opened up and Harret followed. Lived retreated out of the cathedral and into the skies.

Tai looked down at the hole his enemies fill down into. Strange that the Earth only opened around those two and no one else was the one thing that crossed his mind.

Zai could only see nothing else but darkness until the walls of the cave began to illuminate with a soft yellow glow that extended all the way down the dark tunnel.

He looked around him to see Harret beside him then he looked ahead and saw someone standing before him. It was a woman wearing an eagle beak mask. She somehow looked familiar to him. She extended her hand towards him.

"Zai, if you wish to live then please come with me." She said.

_Well that's the end of that verse. I hope you enjoyed it. Yeah, the story is far from over. There are probably lots of grammar and typos in this thing so please tell if you do._


	9. Verse VIII: Chaser

_You know the drill. I don't own Drakengard, only the original characters in this fanfic. Blah, blah, blah. You know the rest._

**Verse VIII: Chaser**

The woman who stood before Zai and Harret remained motionless with her hand extend to them. They both didn't know who she was or where she came from or why she was helping them, however it did not matter to them. They were relieved to have made it out of that situation alive. Any later and they probably would have died. However the question still remained whether or not to follow this mysterious woman.

"Who are you?" Harret asked finally. The woman remained silent and stepped backwards, deeper into the cave. Harret raised his staff. "Hey, I asked you a question. Who are you?"

"If we can make it out of this alive then I will tell you. But in the meantime we have bigger things to worry about, right Zai?" she said as she glanced over at Zai who was silent, still shaken by Tai's words. The words recycled through his head over and over again.

"What does the goddess see in you? What does the goddess see in a beast like you…?" Zai whispered to himself. It was eating away at his soul. He couldn't bare it. How dare he even talk to him like that but also he most likely knew Lilian. He was probably talking to her, seeing her, having his eyes on her. He would not rest until he killed that bastard.

He turned his attention to the woman who continued to stare at him. She was very familiar to him but he didn't know where. There was something about her that eased his anger. Her hair was cut as short as a young boy's but her physic showed a much more feminine beauty. She also seemed to have some muscle tone which meant she was very mobile and athletic. She held two small daggers on her holster and one short sword. Zai recognized the sword as the Deathdance. He himself had given that sword to someone; he just couldn't remember who it was.

The screeching squeals of the goblins echoed through the cave as they approached. The girl drew one of her daggers as a precaution.

"It seems there we are out of time. Quickly, follow the path of this cave and you will find your way out. Then we will talk." And with that said she ran off and disappeared.

Harret and Zai had no choice but to follow. It was either stay and fight the horde of monsters and face immanent death or follow the stranger and live. Zai wanted to stay of course. He knew he could take on all those monsters on his own like he usually would. Before he was able to destroy a mass army of soldiers on his own like they were nothing but this time was different. He did not understand why. Perhaps he had gotten weaker? No, he couldn't think like that. He didn't have the time.

"Let's go." Zai said calmly. "We can meet Lived once we get out of this cave. Then we can look for where the seal is."

This was the first time Harret heard Zai sound so focused and calm. There was no bloodlust in his voice. Something had changed him at this very moment. It was quite a relief to see him speak normally for once.

"Alright. There is no time to waste." Harret nodded and together they made their way down the dimly lit cave.

The tunnel was definitely made by man. It was most likely that mysterious girl and it was her who must have set up the lights. She must have known about the attack before hand or was it just a precaution? Zai looked back and saw a horde of beasts giving chase, brandishing their weapons.

"Shoot. They're right behind us!" Zai yelled to Harret.

"I'll take care of it!" Harret said as he raised his staff towards the side of the walls. A powerful ray of light blasted the sides and caused them to collapse. All monsters in its path were crushed. There was now no turning back and the monster could not chase them as well, at least for a while.

They finally reached what looked like the cave check point. There was a large lake at the center of the large, open area. Ahead was another path for them to follow. Harret could sense that they were almost out.

The two walked around the large lake, watching its glow. Zai realized that he hadn't had a drink in a while. He didn't feel thirsty but he knew that he had better refresh himself so that his body would not fail him. He bent down to the lake and scooped himself a hand full then dropped it back into the water. Harret watched him do so and wondered what the problem was.

"Harret, could you please tell me whether the water is hot or cold, please?" Zai asked.

Once again Harret was surprised. This was so unlike Zai. What was the sudden change in personality? None the less he would try and help him because he could not feel due to his pact. He took a scoop of water and let it sit in his hands. He then dropped it back into the water.

"It's cold. And it also looks safe to drink" Harret said flatly.

Zai nodded and began drinking. He took multiple handfuls, estimating how much was enough. He looked up to Harret who merely stood still, staring at the water.

"Aren't you going to drink any?" Zai asked. He was curious of what was under Harret's mask. What is that he's trying to hide under there?

Harret looked down on him then looked away. He replied "No, I'm not thirsty."

Zai continued drinking, disappointed. Well it was a long shot. As he scooped for another sip he witnessed something moving in the water. He quickly stepped backwards drawing his sword and dagger.

"Harret, something's in there…" Zai said.

"I saw it too. Looks like…" Harret said blankly as three figures burst from the water and appeared in front of them. They looked similar to that of mermaids but their skin were nearly jet black. The bones of their spines protruded from their skin and they held silver tridents as weapons.

"Monsters are here too. Shoot!" Zai said as he dodged the mermaid demon's attack. His bloodlust was coming back to him. The thrill of battle. Judging from its movements he knew that these monsters wouldn't serve as much of a challenge.

Zai got in close of the monster and plunged his dagger into the beast's chest. He ran it all the way up to its head and ripped it back out through the skull. The mermaid fell lifelessly into the water, changing the color from clear to a dark red. He then moved onto the other. Harret didn't participate, he merely watched. Zai had this one under control and then some. He was really quite relieved that Zai was back to his old, blood thirsty self once again.

It was only a short time until the mermaid monsters had been slain and they were back on track. Zai rushed around the blood red lake towards the opening to the other path that would soon lead them out. Harret followed. There were no more hostilities as they dwelved deeper into the cave. Then they saw it; the light at the end of the tunnel. They were finally out. They found themselves in the mountains, where there was a little build up of snow. In front of them they saw the woman again, greeting them.

"I am relived that you have made it here alive." She said.

"Who are you? Remove that mask." Zai said, drawing his sword.

The woman shook her head in disappointment. "I can't believe you don't recognize me. I'm deeply hurt. How can you forget me…?" she removed her eagle mask and revealed her face. Zai's memory of this woman slowly came back to him.

"Salina…"Zai said finally.

"Salina? You know her?" Harret said to him.

"Yes," Zai nodded. A slight smile spread on his face as he uttered his next words. "She's my sister."

_Well, that's the end of that verse. I hope you enjoyed it. More to come really soon. Be sure to review and spread the word and please excuse all spelling and grammar errors._


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